


Promises Were Made to Be Broken

by C1ashi1dr



Series: Thirteen Fanzine Prompt Week [3]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: (not really) - Freeform, Angst, Emotional Hurt, Gen, I'm Sorry, no comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:27:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24533029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C1ashi1dr/pseuds/C1ashi1dr
Summary: The Doctor is up late on the TARDIS one night and she and Yaz have a little chat.
Relationships: The Doctor & The Doctor's TARDIS, Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan, Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan & Graham O'Brien & Ryan Sinclair
Series: Thirteen Fanzine Prompt Week [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1770349
Comments: 10
Kudos: 35





	Promises Were Made to Be Broken

**Author's Note:**

> got this one done a bit earlier tonight! unbeta'd so i apologize for any mistakes and i hope you enjoy
> 
> this is for [@thirteenfanzine's](https://thirteenfanzine.tumblr.com/) prompt week, with the third prompt of "What Happened to Your Promise". I hope you guys enjoy.

The Doctor hummed quietly to herself while bustling about the kitchen. She was making tea, something she didn’t do as often as her previous bodies had. Graham (who made the best tea on the TARDIS, hands down) was asleep and she didn't want to wake him up. it had been a long day of running, and she'd promised them a long night of rest.She promised them a lot of things, a lot of the time, the least she could do was keep one of them. They'd asked that she not wake them, not for anything if she could help it and she'd planned on a long night of repairs. The TARDIS could always use some tuning and she needed to keep her hands as busy as she could. 

It was always sobering, running with humans. There were times where she remembered just how different she was from them. 

So she perched on the edge of the counter, waiting for the kettle to boil with impatience. her knee bounced up and down as she looked around, wondering whose choice it had been to make the kitchen such a bright yellow. it was kind of annoying the longer she looked at it and she tipped her head up to look at the ceiling. As expected, the TARDIS gave a hum of annoyance.

"Hey, I'm just saying there could have been a better color for it," the Doctor said. "No need to get torn up about it. Just making some design criticism." The gentle presence at the back of her mind pushed slightly as a series of beeps and hums came from the ceiling. "Alright, alright, you don't have to remind me. I don't stand by those decisions, I've not always been the best at spotting good color combinations." She stuck her tongue out at the ceiling at the blip of laughter from the ship. "i'd like to think that this time around I've gotten much better at it. Got a better eye for this sort of stuff." Another hum from the ceiling. "Shut up!"

before she could continue the argument with her ship, the kettle whistled shrilly into the suddenly silent air. It was nights like this (well, night was completely relative, she was sure it was day somewhere and sunset somewhere else) that the Doctor wondered whether or not it was smart to travel with humans purely for the fact that being left alone with her thoughts wasn't very ideal. After everything that had happened to Gallifrey, the scope of the Master's madness and pure maliciousness had sunk in, she knew she hadn't been the same. She could see the concerned looks that her Fam gave her, knew that they stayed up more than they should to keep her company. 

"Bloody hell!" she snapped, pulling her hand away. Lost in thought, she'd grabbed the kettle and managed to spill boiling water all over her. Maybe this was why they wouldn't let her in the kitchen, though that had, at times, been attributed to her complete inability to make anything edible. 

Her skin was raw and bright red as she dunked it under the sink, letting the ice cold water run over it. Gritting her teeth against the pain, the Doctor looked away from the stream of water. Stupid Doctor, always so clumsy in this body. In any body, really, at least the ones that had as much energy as this one used to. 

The concerned hum of the TARDIS filled her mind rather than her ears and she cast her eyes to the ceiling, a tight smile on her lips.

"I'm alright, old girl," the Doctor said quietly. "Just a bit of-"

"Doctor?" Yaz's voice broke through the external monologue that the Doctor was about to embark on. She stood in the doorway of the kitchen, still dressed in her jammies, an oversized shirt and shorts. Her eyes were still half shut from sleep and the Doctor felt a bit guilty that she'd been woken up. "Something wrong?"

"Nah," the Doctor said, pulling her hand from the water as quick as she could. She tucked it behind her back, water dripping onto the floor and down the back of her ankles. Stupid. "Just have a quarrel with the TARDIS, you know how mardy she can get." There was an indignant beep from behind here. 

"You sure?" Yaz's gaze, still half asleep, moved to the hand she was holding behind her back. Well, where her hand disappeared behind her back, the Doctor was pretty sure Yaz couldn't see through her. She hoped that Yaz couldn't see through her. Oh gods, what if Yaz could see through her? 

She opened her mouth to ask when Yaz yawned, pressing an open palm over her mouth, moving past her to grab the kettle. The Doctor hadn't had the sense to move it, so it sat on the counter, surrounded by a pool of rapidly cooling water. She swallowed thickly as Yaz looked from the water to the Doctor and back again before sighing slightly.

"Can't even leave you alone to make tea, can we?" Her tone was teasing but she held out a hand. It was a silent request that the Doctor let her see the wound and the Doctor considered it for a split second, properly considered it. There was the TARDIS, humming quiet encouragement in the back of her mind but she shook it away after a second. No, it was better if she didn't let them see any of her weakness. So she just plastered on a smile.

"S'pose not." There, a nice neutral answer, though judging by the way Yaz's face dropped it was the wrong one. "Feel free to help yourself." The expression didn't change and the Doctor grumbled internally. Of course she couldn't navigate this situation, she could barely talk about TARDIS repairs without slipping up and getting that same concerned look. She tried a final time. "Why are you up this late anyway? Thought you lot said you were tired."

"Can't sleep," Yaz said, as though it were that simple. Maybe it was, the Doctor couldn't tell. It was impossible to get a read on Yasmin Khan. "Should be asking you the same, thought you were gonna be doing some TARDIS repairs."

"Fancied a cuppa," the Doctor replied, trying to stay as neutral as she could. It was hard, with Yaz staring at her like that. "Didn't want to wake you three up."

"Doctor," Yaz said, tone heavy. She knew what was coming, more than the Doctor did obviously. "Is everything alright?"

"Of cou-"

"No. Don't do that, don't just push it away. You think we can't tell somethin's up? You've not been acting like yourself."

"What makes you think you know what I act like?" the Doctor snapped back. She didn't want to be prodded for answers, she wanted to travel the universe and run, always run. She wanted to forget Gallifrey, not stand in the kitchen with a burned hand and a scorched heart, shoving away the last remnants of friends she might have. 

"Stop that!" Yaz shouted. The kitchen fell silent, the TARDIS too. There was silence and the Doctor couldn't even hear the beat of her hearts in her chest. "Stop trying to push me away. I promised you I was with you, whatever happened. We all are. So stop trying to get rid of us because we're not going anywhere."

The Doctor shook her head slightly, staring down at her feet. She shoved her burned hand into her pocket, wincing at the pain. A wry chuckle slipped out of her mouth, though it felt more tired and resigned than anything else.

"You're gonna regret that, Yaz," she said. "They always do, one time or another." And as she turned to leave (it was too hard, this was too hard) Yaz's hand gripped hers tightly, holding her in place. She could feel Yaz's eyes on her, hairs at the back of her neck standing up sharply. 

"I'm not," she said, face hardening a bit when the Doctor chuckled again, this time derisively. "What about you, Doctor? What about fair play across the universe? What happened to your promise?"

"You should know by now I can't keep my promises. Even if it could save my life." She tugged her wrist free and stalked back into the TARDIS corridors.

**Author's Note:**

> it would be awesome if you could check me out [@joanwolfe](https://joanwolfe.tumblr.com/) on tumblr, where i accept prompts for a variety fandoms and just have general memery going on. i think it's a riot, but i'm also biased.
> 
> stay safe everyone
> 
> ~~jo


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